The Booklist
A weekly newsletter for book lovers from books editor Jason Steger.
The Drop podcast
Your weekly hit of the most interesting pop culture news, reviews and recommendations.
The Traveller Quiz
Are you an expert traveller? Test your knowledge with our weekly travel quiz.
Exclusive
Education
Students cheated on a test and got away with it. Then the blackmail started
Australian students are being blackmailed by illegal cheating syndicates largely run by organised crime.
Exclusive
Population
More crowded than Manhattan and London. Find out how dense your suburb is
Population data shows our city has been transformed by high and medium-density living. Use our interactives to check your area.
Exclusive
Cost of living
Victorians face biggest jump in financial distress
More than half of Victorians are experiencing cost-of-living and personal debt distress beyond normal levels.
Opinion
City life
Melbourne, your street art and laneways are overrated. We’re just putting lipstick on a concrete pig
Parklets and painted “shared streets” aren’t working. If that’s the best we’ve got, Melbourne’s reputation as a leading liveable city is in trouble.
Prue Blake
Comedian and former urban planner
Underground drug trafficking operation linked to ‘colourful’ clinic owner, court hears
Police seized hundreds of vials of testosterone, human growth hormone and anabolic steroids, 17 luxury cars worth more than $3 million and a safe of cash in raids.
Live
AFL 2024
Blues dine out on Kangas; Pendlebury fined for ‘strike’; Fremantle’s 3-0 start
Callum Coleman-Jones will have scans in the coming days for what appears to be an Achilles injury suffered in the Roos’ 56-point loss. Follow the action.
Latest live posts
LoadingAFL teams and expert tips: Tigers lose Grimes as one of four changes
Our experts have entered their tips for the eight games of round three. See which way they’re predicting each match will turn out, and come back on Thursday night for all the ins and outs.
Exclusive
Australian Open
‘It’s not a war’: Australian Open boss on the revolution about to hit world tennis
The “war” over a radical new direction for professional tennis – between the cashed-up Saudis and the four grand slams – is anything but, according to Australian Open boss Craig Tiley.
When an investigative journalist turns to crime, it’s a ‘sheer delight’
Louise Milligan’s first crime novel tells a dark and enjoyable story.
The best new shows to stream in April
Our guide to the best of what’s on the streamers and free-to-air this month.
There’s only one thing to say about this novel – read it
Sometimes a reviewer wants to write this: “I loved this book. You might too. The end.”
King praises ‘hand of friendship in time of need’ in Easter message
Charles missed a traditional service, but recorded his first public address since his daughter-in-law, Catherine, revealed she had been diagnosed with cancer.
Australian wanted over alleged murder of British ex-soldier
Daniel Burke, from Manchester, travelled to Ukraine in 2022 to help fight against Russian invading forces. He was found dead in September.
One in 10 emergency workers develops PTSD. Finally, help is on its way
New world-first guidelines seek to tackle the human cost to first responders and the high rates of PTSD.
Tripologist: How should I spend a 24-hour stopover in Zurich?
You might take a stroll along Bahnhofstrasse, Zurich’s most famous street. This handsome boulevard is dedicated to all things Swiss.
Melbourne undies on stage at Tom Jones? It’s still not unusual
Tom Jones has been touring for six decades but his arena show was anything but nostalgia.
WEEKEND READS
While researching cults, I began to wonder if I’d been raised in one
I grew up with an unquestioning adherence to a set of beliefs, a strict authoritarian hierarchy of power and a rock-hard sense of being among the chosen ones.
Analysis
Poison and politics: The bizarre backstory to Netflix’s latest blockbuster
A former executive at the company that owns the rights to Netflix’s latest series 3 Body Problem was sentenced to death by a Shanghai court.
Victoria
Updated
Crime
Man shot dead at Glenroy shops in ‘targeted attack’ on Good Friday
Homicide squad detectives are combing an area in Melbourne’s north after a man was shot dead in the early hours of Good Friday.
Analysis
Naked City
Inside the world of police negotiators where one mistake can kill someone
There are no deadlines, no shouting, no threats and no intimidation. They would rather show people the exit door than kick it in.
Steve hit his head playing soccer and was rushed to Melbourne’s new concussion clinic
Steve Kemp, who landed on his head during a soccer match, is among the first patients to be treated at Victoria’s new public concussion clinic.
Mayor’s Chapel Street slur comes back to haunt
The Stonnington mayor wants Chapel Street businesses to pay millions for marketing and promotion, but he hasn’t always been so keen on the strip.
Updated
Local council
Race to replace Capp could hinge on how much cash rivals can splash
One of two men who played deputy to Melbourne lord mayors could get their turn at the top after the resignation of Sally Capp.
AFL
Opinion
Think AFL drug cover-ups are common? Sorry to disappoint, but they’re not
Aside from the occasional rumour, during my AFL career I was never aware of a player being pulled on match day over a drug test during the week.
Brandon Jack
Commentator and author
AFL chief tells clubs what the new drugs policy will be
Andrew Dillon has told a briefing of all 18 clubs that the league will continue with a health-based illicit drugs policy. In practice, this would mean no sanction on the first offence.
Politics
An Iranian man says he fears harm if sent home. The government says it’s not enough
A person in immigration detention cannot be released just because they fear persecution in their birth country, the federal government will argue in a High Court challenge.
Business
Bank profit margin crunch to continue as customers shift deposits
Bank margins will continue to dwindle in the first half of this financial year, analysts say, as customers move their savings into higher-interest offerings.
World
Updated
US Votes 2024
Three presidents, a queen and a talk show host: Biden enlists big guns against Trump
With seven months until the US election, Democrats hope a single, star-studded event will add $US25m to their war chest.
Opinion
Just when Dutton is winning, he sounds like a sore loser
David Crowe
Chief political correspondent
Want to fill the tradie gap? Walk in my labourer’s boots for a day
Joe Visser
Labourer and writer
Explore
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Property
How much it costs to live near Australia’s best beaches
A patch of paradise won’t break the bank in some of the most beautiful and isolated locations in the country.
How much you’d need to earn to buy a property of every size
The difference between a typical three-bedroom house and a typical four-bedroom house can be a stretch for a growing family.
Good Food
Lifestyle
Why do I get so bloated (and gassy) on planes?
No, you’re not imagining it. Here’s how to avoid that dreaded bloated feeling while flying.
Culture
Christmas and Halloween are made for movies. What about Easter?
Despite being a major holiday that often lines up with the school break, Easter movies remain rare compared to other holiday counterparts.
Traveller
Drivedrive
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Sport
Exclusive
Australian Open
‘It’s not a war’: The seismic shift about to hit world tennis
The “war” over a radical new direction for professional tennis – between the cashed-up Saudis and the four grand slams – is anything but, according to Australian Open boss Craig Tiley in this interview about the future of the sport.
Live
AFL 2024
Carlton dine out on Kangas; Pendlebury fined for ‘strike’; Fremantle’s 3-0 start
Michael Voss says he’s never seen Harry McKay more confident after the spearhead powered Carlton to a thumping 56-point win over North Melbourne.
The mystery of baseball’s billion-dollar man, his interpreter and the betting scandal that rocked US sport
Shohei Ohtani’s perfect image has been besmirched by allegations of a $US4.5 million bank transfer to an illegal bookmaker in California.
‘Comes back with mayonnaise on it’: North’s ongoing battle to reduce turnovers
North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson has defended the club’s call not to select key defensive prospect Daniel Curtin in last year’s draft after also letting restricted free agent Ben McKay walk.
Updated
Racism
Police launch investigation after Eddie Betts shares footage of racial abuse
Indigenous AFL great Eddie Betts has shared footage to social media of four children being racially abused while playing basketball in the front garden of a Glen Iris home.
The ‘damning number’ that spurred the Magpies on, and how they shifted the blowtorch to the Lions
Collingwood had spoken all week about bringing a defensive intent to the game. They delivered, and now the blowtorch has been shifted to the still-winless Lions.
AFL teams and expert tips: Tigers lose Grimes as one of four changes
Our experts have entered their tips for the eight games of round three. See which way they’re predicting each match will turn out, and come back on Thursday night for all the ins and outs.
Have Your Say
Oliver’s training injury laid bare the issue with AFL’s drug policy
When it is accepted publicly that clubs lie about injuries to cover for players who are taking drugs, or with drugs in their system, pulling out of games casts doubt on players with legitimate injuries or non-drug related personal issues.
Michael Gleeson
Sports columnist